The Christmas countdown begins with the highly anticipated launch of Marks & Spencer's 2025 beauty advent calendar, offering an impressive collection of premium products at an accessible price point of just £60.
What Makes M&S's Calendar Stand Out
While luxury retailers like Harrods and Harvey Nichols demand premium prices for their beauty calendars, M&S continues to deliver exceptional value without breaking the bank. This year's edition contains 25 products from household names including Clinique, Colour Wow, Estée Lauder, and Living Proof, with a total claimed value of over £300.
The Independent's senior shopping writer Daisy Lester, who has tested beauty advent calendars for years across retailers including John Lewis, Boots, and Selfridges, confirms that M&S remains her favourite. "Not only is it affordable, but the contents include brands you can really trust and crowd-pleasing variety," she notes.
Inside the 2025 Calendar
This year marks a departure from M&S's traditional velvet vanity case, with British fashion designer Bella Freud creating the packaging. Fresh from her sell-out fashion collaboration with the retailer, Freud has imbued the calendar with her signature aesthetic through recognisable typography and gold stars.
The calendar contains eight full-size products and 17 travel-size items, organised into themed categories such as "relax", "rich", "silky" and "radiance". The sturdy design allows for repurposing as storage after Christmas.
Product Highlights Across Categories
Haircare and body care emerge as particular strengths in this year's selection. The calendar includes Cowshed's relax bath and shower gel and calming body lotion, both featuring a soothing lavender and eucalyptus scent. For nighttime relaxation, This Works deep sleep body cocoon provides a lavender-scented moisturising treatment.
Hair enthusiasts will appreciate the travel-sized version of Color Wow's dream cocktail carb infused thickening treatment, along with Living Proof's full shampoo and conditioner duo designed to add volume and shine to flat hair.
While the skincare offering is slightly less comprehensive than in previous years, it still includes minis of Estée Lauder's advanced night repair and Emma Hardie's renewal treatment mask. Affordable favourites like Weleda's skin food – favoured by celebrities including Hailey Bieber and Victoria Beckham – also feature.
Make-up and Fragrance Standouts
The make-up selection may be smaller but delivers exceptional value, highlighted by Clinique's high impact mascara worth £26 alone. This voluminous formula creates a soft-focused, doll-eye effect with its unique brush design.
Benefit's cult benetint lip and cheek tint offers a versatile rosy flush, while Stila's gel brown eyeliner provides long-lasting, waterproof definition perfect for creating smoky eye looks.
Fragrance offerings include M&S's own soft gardenia toilette, reminiscent of Marc Jacobs Daisy, and Floral Street's sweet almond blossom eau de parfum with its warm, sweet scent profile.
Practical Considerations and Value Assessment
The calendar launched on 9 October 2025 both online and in-store, with the £60 price tag requiring a £35 spend on beauty, home or clothing items. While this represents a £10 increase from last year, it remains significantly more affordable than competitors like Liberty's beauty advent calendar at £275.
Daisy Lester's testing methodology evaluated value for money, product sizes, and variety. She notes that while she would have preferred more full-size products across all categories, the calendar represents excellent value for money and a crowd-pleasing countdown to Christmas.
Prospective buyers should act quickly, as the calendar typically sells out rapidly each year. With its combination of trusted brands, thoughtful curation, and accessible pricing, M&S's 2025 beauty advent calendar continues to set the standard for affordable luxury in the festive beauty market.
